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Using SketchUcam with a really big CNC Machine

Discussion in 'General Talk Forum' started by Hedogold, Apr 20, 2015.

  1. Hedogold

    Hedogold New Member

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    I am quite new to the Forum, i have registered a while ago but haven´t been active since - also i am not a very good Forum Member, as often the amount of stuff on forums is to much for me. And also i am not a native English Speaker.

    Here is the thing: I am a Carpenter (or Joyner / Kitchen and Cabinet Maker) and since January i am partly in a small Joynery where we have an old CNC Machine (+/- 15 years old)
    Since i have joined i have been looking for a Software to use with it (long story behind that, they have been using it for stairs and have had a special Software for that which directly communicated with the Machine) We are using the machine very rarely and if so we have to gerenate the GCode by Hand - using Norton Commander and a VERY old Dos PC!!! They have a few old PC´s in Store if the current one breaks!

    I have a few Options for Software, but that is really expensive and for a small Business not affordable. So i remebered that i found something once, as i am a big fan of Sketchup, and i really use it a lot.

    I am fully aware, that this Forum ist more for like RC but as far as i can see the Plugin for Sketchup is great! It really does what i need - output the drawn stuff into GCode with a .cnc

    I will keep you updated on how things went. If anyone is intersted feel free to contact me with anything. Also if anyone wants to drop by, we are located a few km south of Stuttgart / Germany.

    To the Machine: it is a SCM Record2 with a NUM750 and a Table with roughly 5 Meters by 1,2 Meters.
     
  2. swarfer

    swarfer Moderator Staff Member

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    HI
    Welcome to the forums!
    I am the current maintainer for the SketchUcam plugin and am keen to know how well it works on that older machine.

    The Gcode it generates is very simple since we want it to work on all controllers. It only uses G00 G01 G02 and G03 codes, with a few
    setup codes in the header and a M30 'program end' at the end. If you need to change the header codes it is easy, you just need to edit one of the script files, which I can help you with. If the controller does not like G02 and G03 codes you only need to explode all curves in the drawing before adding cutlines. This will ensure that all cuts (except plunge holes) will be simple linear moves.

    After you install SketchUcam you will need to change a few defaults by using the Tools|Phlatboyz|Options|Machine Options menu.
    Set Default_safe_width and Default_safe_height to the size of the table (3200MM X 1080MM if Google found the right machine)
    Set 'Min_z' to -300
    and 'Max_z' to 300

    Those will get you going, but please read the help section (big blue question mark in toolbar) about the default options, getting them right can really make life easier.

    oh yes, one thing you may have trouble with is the helical boring routines used for plunge holes that are larger than the bit diameter. They currently use 'full circle' codes that such an old controller may not interpret correctly. However, the new version I am working on can output those codes as quarter circles instead. If you can do a quick test of a hole larger than bit diameter (hold down shift and click to be prompted for the diameter) and let me know if it works, if not we can sort something out for you.

    Lastly, I would like to encourage you to consider having the controller upgraded to a PC running LinuxCNC. The LinuxCNC software is free and being Linux you can then network the PC and load programs through the network, or a flash stick, and even use an editor on the PC itself to write or modify programs directly, or use Python extensions that function as 'wizards' to generate code directly in the controller.
    Look at the new Tormach controller software, which is LinuxCNC with the Tormach 'PathPilot' conversational front end added to it.

    Here is a brief look at the Tormach PathPilot features


    You can also watch my instruction videos for SketchUcam....





    I am making some more to go with the new features in the new release, hopefully ready in a couple of weeks.

    I would love to see a short video of that machine running SketchUcam code (-:
     
  3. marcomartim

    marcomartim Member

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    Welcome!
    Despite having access to other CAD / CAM, prefer to keep this wonderful plugin + Sketchup for most applications.
    hugs
     
  4. doddy sanjaya

    doddy sanjaya New Member

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    gcode plot version Mac iOS not support, how is solution?
     
  5. Velho Lobo

    Velho Lobo New Member

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    [QUOTE = "doddy sanjaya, post: 40548, member: 31320"] versão do código Gcode Mac iOS não suporta, como é a solução? [/ QUOTE]
    Ola, tb. uso o Mac, ja instalei o SketchUp mas não sei como instalar o plug-in SketchUCam. Pode me ajudar?
     
  6. swarfer

    swarfer Moderator Staff Member

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    The same way you install any other plugin. In Sketchup 2017:
    Window (might be different on Mac)
    Extension Manager
    Install Extension
    select the Sketchucam.rbz file
    OK
     
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  7. swarfer

    swarfer Moderator Staff Member

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    Use bCNC or UGS or CAMotics to preview the code
    http://camotics.org/download.html

    or you can run gplot.exe in a windows emulator, it does work in WINE under Linux.
     
  8. Velho Lobo

    Velho Lobo New Member

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    Thanks
     

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